JOHNS, Newman
(Service number 90479)
| First Rank | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 24 July 1885 | Place of Birth | Waimate |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 6 July 1918 | Age | 32 years 11 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | St Albans, Christchurch | ||
| Occupation | Commercial traveller | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Married | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs Eva JOHNS (wife), 75 Browns Road, St Albans, Christchurch | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | |||
| Date | |||
| Transport | |||
| Embarked From | Destination | ||
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 2 January 1964 | Age | 78 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | |||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Ruru Lawn Cemetery, Christchurch | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Newman Johns was born on 27 July 1885 at Waimate, the fourth son of Frederick and Elizabeth Anne Thomas (née Hosking) Johns. Frederick and Elizabeth had married in Cornwall, England, in 1875. Shortly afterwards they emigrated with Elizabeth’s widowed mother. They landed at Timaru and travelled to Waimate, South Canterbury, where they spent some years. Newman’s early education was at Waimate District High School, where, in 1893, he received first prize for Standard II boys. In November 1895 he gave a recitation at the Ashburton Wesleyan Band of Hope gathering. And also in 1895 he received a Standard IV prize at Hampstead School.
Newman Harvey married Eva Eliza Dunbar on 16 November 1910 at Christchurch. They had two children born before he enlisted – Shirley in 1914 at Christchurch and Patricia in 1916 at Christchurch. His name was drawn in a ballot and he enlisted on 6 July 1918 at Christchurch. His wife – Mrs Eva Johns, 75 Browns Road, St Albans, Christchurch – was his nominated next-of-kin. He was a commercial traveller and had two people dependent on him. From 1932 till 1940 Newman was employed as a conductor by the Canterbury Transport Board.
A son, Kenneth Newman Johns, was born to Newman and Eva in 1919. Newman died on 2 January 1964 at Christchurch, aged 78, and was buried in Ruru Lawn Cemetery. Eva died eight years later. His brothers, Graham Johns and Harvey Johns, both served in World War One and both came home by hospital ship.
Sources
NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [17 February 2021]; Ruru Lawn Cemetery headstone transcription [05 March 2021]; South Canterbury Times, 16 December 1893, Ashburton Guardian, 5 November 1895, 21 December 1895 (Papers Past) [March 2021]
External Links
Related Documents
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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